It's fair to say that Mercedes have been less than impressive since their return to F1 in 2010. Their history to say the least is complicated, yet they built a team which saw Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher take the two racing seats from 2010 to 2012.
However, this season has proved different, with pole positions and race wins as well as a new driver in the form of Lewis Hamilton.
Between the 2010 and 2011 seasons the team finished without a single pole position or win, and a number of retirements due to technical problems. Things seemed to have improved in 2012, with Rosberg taking pole at the Chinese GP and subsequently winning the race as well. Although some expected for this form to continue into the 2012 season, Mercedes suffered from multiple technical issues and retirements which lead them to finish 5th in the Constructor's Championship with 142 points.
With the arrival of Lewis Hamilton for the 2013 season and the departure of Michael Schumacher, the team was expected to deliver a competitive car. There was a lot of pressure on the team to perform and questions as to why Hamilton had decided to join them.
Mercedes are now enjoying what is their best season in the sport since returning in 2010. So far after 11 races they have achieved 3 wins and 8 pole positions, a radical improvement from 2012. They still have areas to improve in order to be able to convert each pole into a race win, but the races they have won, they've done rather dominantly.
Mercedes have suffered with a number of tyre problems throughout the season, suffering from blow-outs at the British GP with Lewis Hamilton and extreme degradation in races which have seen them slide down the order. However, they arguably have the fastest car in qualifying trim, which is illustrated by the amount of pole positions which they have achieved so far.
At recent races we have also seen an improvement with the Mercedes' tyre degradation, whether this be because they understand how to manage the tyres more effectively or because the change in the Pirelli tyres have suited them.
They have worked extremely hard over the winter to develop a competitive car and this is shown by the fact that they stand 2nd in the Constructor's Championship and are Red Bull's nearest rival with 235 points. The two drivers have been extremely consistent as well, with Hamilton finishing in the points in 10 of the 11 races with 1 win and 4 podium finishes. Nico Rosberg also has finished in the points in 8 of the 11 races, but also has 2 race wins included. The big question now surrounding Mercedes is can they continue to develop their car which will be able to challenge Red Bull for the titles? With big regulation changes coming in 2014, it is natural to think that the team will be dedicating more time and effort towards their 2014 car, but all the great teams are able to balance their developments between the two cars. If Mercedes can continue a decent rate of development for their 2013 car, I believe they have a good chance of securing 2nd in the constructors championship and may even be able to chase Red Bull down even to the last race in Brazil.
When Lewis Hamilton joined the team at the beginning of the season, many people doubted that he would be able to win races with the team because of how uncompetitive their 2012 car was. Admittedly, I didn't think that considering the form of the team since 2010, that Rosberg let alone Hamilton would be winning races this season. Its astonishing how far the team have come in this season and they've proved a lot of people wrong. It is almost as though Hamilton knew the car would be competitive when he joined.
For these reasons, so far this season Mercedes have been the team of the season for me. In order to call this season a real success I believe they should still be trying to challenge for the titles as much as possible and I think even if they don't win these, if they get a few more race wins this season, they can call 2013 a real success.
No comments:
Post a Comment